Saint
Arcangelo Tadini
Born: 12th October 1846 Verolanuva, Italy
Died: 20th May 1912 Botticino Sera, Italy
Feast Day: 20th May
Patron Saint: Worker Sisters of the Holy House of Nazareth
Shrine: Minor Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Botticino
Sera, Italy
Symbols in Art: Priests Cassock, Book of Hours
Venerated: 21st December 1998 by Pope John Paul
II
Beatified: 3rd October 1999 by Pope John Paul II
Canonised: 26th April 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI
Saint Arcangelo Tadini was born on 12th October 1846 in
Verolanuva, Italy to Pietri Tadini and Antonia Gadola, a family of nobility. Antonia was Pietri’s second wife, sister of
his first wife who had died at 28 after giving birth to seven children. Arcangelo
was the youngest of four children in this marriage and was a sick child, his
parents thought he may die at a young age, but he recovered. In 1855-56 Arcangelo moved
to the Episcopal High School in Lovere, where his siblings also attended. Three
of his brothers started the seminary after completing high school in Lovere.
Arcangelo entered the seminary at the age of 18 but had an accident which
left him with a limp for the rest of his life.
He was ordained in 1870 but was forced to spend the first year with his
family due to ill health. He was a
curate at Lodrino and then at the Shrine of Santa Maria della Noce near Brescia
from 1871 to 1873, he was known for being warm and attentive to the needs of
his community. Following a flood which
left people homeless he organised a soup kitchen serving 300 meals a day.
In 1885 he moved to Botticino Sera as curate being appointed as priest 2
years later where he remained for the rest of the 25 years of his life. He taught catechesis, started a choir, rebuilt
the church and when he preached people heard the warmth that his words
implanted.
Arcangelo established the Workers’ Mutual Aid Association helping
workers injured or sick or needing help in old age. He built a spinning factory with his
inheritance, later building a residence for working women next door.
He established the Congregation of Worker Sisters of the Holy House of
Nazareth to educate young working women by working alongside them in the
factories and leading by example. He
taught that work is not a curse but a way in which men and women are called to accomplish
themselves as people and Christians.
Arcangelo got his strength from prayer and was seen often standing for
hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament absorbed in contemplation despite his
disability. He died on 2th May 1912.
The miracle that led to Arcangelo’s beatification was the healing of the
nun Carmela Berardi who was a member of Tadini's order. Berardi suffered from
tuberculosis that blocked her vocal cords leaving her unable to speak from 1936
until her healing in 1943. Tadini's remains were being exhumed on 11 March 1943
so the order's Superior General asked her to ask for Tadini's intercession.
Berardi did this and found that she could speak to the surprise of those
present; the damage that the tuberculosis caused also disappeared
The miracle that led to Arcangelo’s canonization was the healing of the
couple Roberto Marazzi and Elisabetta Fostini who were sterile and unable to
conceive despite several attempts from 2000 to 2004. Doctors suggested IVF
treatment to them, but the couple refused while later coming into touch with
families who met in Tadini's order's motherhouse for their Gruppo Famiglia
Beato Tadini meetings held each month. The couple attended since April 2004 and
bore their first child Maria on 5 August 2005 and a second in Giovanni on 3 December
2006
References:
https://catholicreadings.org/catholic-quotes/saint-arcangelo-tadini-saint-of-the-day-may-20/
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